


Blind

by feathersandriddles



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Beating, Blood, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I made Isabella into someone relevant, Isabella doesn't know what no means, M/M, Not just a plot device, Oswald to the rescue, Poor Ed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 18:53:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11720409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feathersandriddles/pseuds/feathersandriddles
Summary: Isabella tries to help Edward face his fear of hurting her. Instead of giving in, Edward wants nothing to do with her plan and tries to flee. Isabella doesn't take that decision nicely. Only Oswald can help Edward from the situation he put himself in and they both learn some shocking details.





	Blind

**Author's Note:**

> This takes places during 3x08 when Edward goes to Isabella after she tells Oswald that she won't leave him alone. Things spiral from there.

Edward has been standing outside of Isabella's apartment door for five minutes now, too scared to enter.

Oswald had informed Edward that breaking up with her for him earlier didn't work out too well. She was set on staying with him.

Seeing Isabella put on glasses that were similar to Kristen Kringle's when they were having breakfast this morning sent Edward down a spiraling hole of panic. Yes, Isabella may share many similar physical traits as Kristen already but Edward was able to differentiate the two. That was the case until she put those damn glasses on. Now it felt like history was repeating itself.

Edward wants to end things before he could cause her any damage like he did with Kristen but she was making things difficult. Isabella had asked him to come over and despite Edward's doubts, he agreed and hoped that this meet up would end with her safe and him far away from her as possible so he wouldn't hurt her.

After a few more minutes has passed, Edward took a deep breath and entered. He knocked on the door that was already slightly opened. Isabella was definitely expecting him.

"Isabella?" He peaked in. Music was playing throughout the apartment but there was no sign of her.

"Isabella, I got your note." Edward said as he entered and closed the door behind him.

"I thought you needed to leave for your conference." He walked in further and peeked into the living room to see if she was there.

"I can be late, Edward." Isabella finally spoke. Her voice was coming from the bathroom. "This is more important."

Edward stopped a few feet away from the bathroom door.

"Oswald-" Edward stopped and cleared his throat after saying his name with a squeak. He cursed himself for being so nervous.

"Oswald, the mayor, has informed me of your position but believe me I think us breaking up is for the best."

"No, Edward. It's not. I understand your fear. It comes from a place of love. I know you won't hurt me." Isabella replied.

Edward shook his head, obviously not agreeing with her. He was going to tell her just that when Isabella finally stepped out.

"You never could."

Edward gasped at the sight of her. Isabella was wearing the same outfit, glasses, hairstyle and had the same hair color as Miss Kringle. It was like Kristen was standing right in front of him.

"Oh my good- Kristen?"

Isabella started walking towards him.

"I found old photos and newspapers," Isabella explained how she knew how to dress like Kristen.

Edward just stared at her with eyes wide and felt like he couldn't breathe. He backed away.

"I-I need to leave now."

He only managed to take three quick steps until he felt Isabella grab him.

"No, no, no, no. Look at me!" Isabella was now blocking his path and holding him by the shoulders tightly to stop him from going anywhere.

"You don't know what you're do-" Edward's sentence was interrupted by Isabella slapping his face. Another thing he wasn't expecting.

"I am forcing you to face your fear! You won't hurt me even if I look like this." Isabella held his face in her hands, trying to get Edward to keep eye contact.

Edward tightly closed his eyes, wishing he could be anywhere but there in that moment.

"Edward..." Isabella whispered. Edward slowly started to open his eyes again at the sudden change of tone in her voice. It wasn't forceful anymore. It was sincere.

He looked at her, still feeling panic in his chest. The panic increased when he felt Isabella reaching for his hand and leading it to her neck.

Edward repeatedly said "no" but wasn't sure it was at her or at himself. He found himself grabbing her neck and giving it a squeeze.

He continued squeezing, getting lost in thought, until Isabella let out a choked out "Edward..." which made Edward immediately withdraw his hand and threw himself back.

"I'm so sorry! I told you this was a bad idea!"

"No, Edward it isn't. You were doing so good. Just a little more and-"

"Isabella! I-I can't! I-I really have to go."  
Edward tried to rush pass her to the door but found himself caught once again in Isabella's surprisedly strong grip.

"You are not leaving until you face your fear!"

Now Edward was really about to have a panic attack. He started squirming in her grip in hopes to break free but he wasn't making any progress.

"Stop fighting! Embrace it!"

Desperate times calls for drastic measures.

Edward decided to do something that got him beaten once but it did give him enough time to run away before he was caught again.

He spat in Isabella's face.

Surprised by that action, Isabella loosened her grip which Edward took advantage of and managed to get out of and ran out the door.

"EDWARD!"

Isabella's yell could be heard from down the hall.

Edward reached the elevator and started frantically pressing the button. It wasn't coming fast enough.

He turned back to see Isabella coming out from her apartment with a bat that she must have went to get before going after him and started charging at his direction.

"Screw it," Ed thought as he continued running down another hallway looking for a staircase. He thankfully found one and began to quickly descend down the stairs.

As he was trying to make his exit, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and called Oswald.

Oswald picked up on the second ring.

"Ed! I was just thinking about you. How did things go?" He sounded anxious but that wasn't Ed's main concern right now.

"Oswald! I need your help! Isabella has gone crazy! She wasn't letting me leave and I only managed to escape because of a distraction I created and now she's chasing me down and I'm afraid what will happen if she catches me and-"

"Ed! Slow down! What's going on? What has she done to you?"

Before Edward could respond, he wasn't paying too much attention to the steps and missed one. He ended up falling down the stairs.

"Crap," Ed said in pain as he held onto his ankle that he unfortunately landed on. He tried to get up but he only fell back to the floor hissing in pain.

"Ed! Ed!" Oswald said from the phone.

Edward reached for the phone and put it close to his ear.

"Oswald..."

"Ed! What happened?! Are you alright?!"

Before Edward could respond, he was hit on the back of his head by the very weapon and by the very person he was trying to get away from him. He was knocked out cold, dropping his phone once again.

Isabella smiled and reached down to get his phone.

"Sorry, Mr. Mayor. Edward can come to the phone right now. You can try again later. If he's still able to be reached."

She ended the call and proceeded to destroy the phone by stomping on it. Once she was done with that, she started her journey dragging Edward by his feet back to her apartment.

***

Back in the mansion, Oswald's worry was quickly overcome by anger at the sound of Isabella's voice. He knew there was something wrong with that woman! Oswald had to get to Ed before anymore harm was done on him. First, he needed the address to her place.

He limped as fast as he could to his Chief Of Staff's office, remembering Edward had written down her number and address on an index card when he first met Isabella and kept it somewhere safe. But where the hell could it be?

As Oswald was tearing apart Edward's drawers at his desk, Olga walked into the office curious by the amount of noise coming from that room.

"Mr. Penguin? What you doing?" She asked in her broken English.

Oswald looked up. "Olga! By any chance have you seen an index card with information of the girl Ed has been seeing?"

"Does card have lots of numbers?"

"Yes!"

Just know realizing Olga was carrying a bunch of garbage in her hands, she took out a crumbled looking index card from the pile and handed it to Oswald which Oswald quickly snatched.

"I was just in Mr. Nygma's room. Cleaning. Found that and others papers in can."

"This is it! Thank you so much, Olga!" Oswald replied as he limped out. "Call the driver to the front! I need him to drive me to this address immediately!"

"Da," Olga said as she watched her boss make his way to his own office to fetch a gun.

***

Edward groaned from the pain in his head as he started to stir. He blinked a couple of times to clear his blurry vision. Thankfully he still had his glasses on.

Once he was fully awake, he saw his arms were tied behind his back and was also tied to a chair. He looked around the room and he realized he was back in Isabella's apartment.

"This can't be happening..." Ed said as he struggled against the bonds. As he was trying to break free, Isabella stepped into view with the bat she seemed to have grew a fond of.

"Hello, Edward. Running away wasn't a very nice thing to do when your girlfriend was only trying to help."

"Isabella, what's the meaning of all this?"

"Oh, Edward. So smart yet so dumb. Not batting an eye when a woman that looks identical as your ex that you killed comes wandering into a wine shop. They were right. You did fall so easily."

"Who were right? Who are you really?"

"My given name is still Isabella but I wasn't the second chance you kept telling your precious mayor."

"How do you know I said that to him?"

"I bugged you of course silly. You thought me running my hands all over your body was because I was attracted to you?"

Edward clenched his jaw.

Isabella laughed as she trailed her hand down Edward's arm like she used to do.

"Oh no, honey. I was just planting a small microphone into your suit jacket which allowed me to hear everything you and the mayor discussed."

"Why?" He growled.

"You see, a woman named Kathryn wanted information on how to take down the mayor since he's been getting very greedy with power. So she decided to send me to find out the very thing that could cause his downfall."

"How do you look exactly like Kristen Kringle?"

"I'm a clone of course. I was made at Indian Hill by Hugo Strange when you were still incarcerated in Arkham. I was going to be used to help you heal from Kristen's death by being with you until I died from natural causes, which wouldn't have been long because we clones all have an expiration date. You wouldn't have been burdened by the guilt of killing the woman you loved anymore and then the real healing process would have begun. But alas, our mayor got you out of the Asylum before any of this could have been done. So I was used to serve a greater purpose than I was originally made for which was to get close to you to get information on the mayor and boy did it work."

Edward was dumbfounded. A clone? None of this made sense! How could he have not seen any of this? He let his past love for Miss Kringle blind him. He wanted to believe that he had a second chance to fix his mistakes but there are no second chances in life he came to realize. Not even a first chance when it came to finding love in someone new.

Edward didn't want to admit it to himself but another reason he found himself falling in love with Isabella so fast was because of his affections for Oswald that he didn't return. So he thinks. How could someone like Oswald love him? He was a jittery loser.

Edward thought with Isabella he can move on from those affections but now he realized he was just putting all his love on someone that didn't deserve it and he kicked himself for not being brave enough on the couch the other night after Butch's attack. He should have kissed Oswald right there and receive whatever reaction he got. Something was better than lying to himself.

Edward snapped back to reality when he realized Isabella said she found the one thing that could bring Oswald down.

Edward looked up at Isabella. "And what's this thing you discovered that would complete your mission?"

Isabella gave him another dark smile that sent chills down his spine.

"You."

Edward was confused.

"M-me? Why?"

"As I said, so smart yet so dumb." Isabella as said as she raised her at and delivered a strike.

***

On the dark streets of Gotham, Oswald kept yelling at his driver to hurry up as they made their way to Isabella's apartment. He needed to get to Ed right this second. He angrily reassured his driver that he would pay any parking ticket or bail money if caught by the GCPD for speeding if he put more power to that gas pedal.

Finally, after what it felt like forever, they arrived to the destination.

"Stay here and wait for me until I come back out." Oswald addressed his driver and didn't wait for a reply as he hurriedly got out of the car and went inside the building.

He had to get to the apartment 7D. He rushed over to the elevator in the lobby and frantically pressed the up button until it arrived. Once inside, Oswald pressed the button to the seventh floor and watched as the number changed on top of the elevator, mentally telling it to hurry up. Whatever Isabella had planned for Ed, he hoped he wasn't too late.

The elevator reached the seventh floor and Oswald was out of there before the doors fully opened. He limped down the hallway until he reached the door that read 7D on it. He took out the gun he had been carrying in his suit pocket and was ready for battle.

Using his good leg and leaning against his cane, he started hitting the door with all the force that he had until the door busted open. With his gun drawn, he entered. The lights were off and everything was quiet. Too quiet. He called out for Ed as fully made his way into the apartment where he was met with a bloody and bruised version of his friend tied to a chair who didn't look conscious in the living room.

Oswald gasped. "Ed..."

He started moving forward to him but stopped when he saw a shadow come behind a wall.

Oswald pointed the gun at the figure.

"Don't come any closer or I will shoot you dead!"

The figure chuckled as they clapped their hands twice and the lights to the apartment turned on revealing Isabella, back to her blonde hair and wearing an all black outfit. She still had the bat in her hands.

"You!" Oswald said in anger. "What have you done?!"

"What I was made to do," Isabella replied.

Oswald looked back at Ed who was silent during the confrontation.

"Ed! Ed, please say something!"

"He's not gonna respond anytime soon. I gave him a real good beating. Probably won't survive the night if he doesn't receive medical attention to the poor head injuries and possible bruised lungs."

Oswald clicked the gun as Isabella listed Edward's injuries.

"You're gonna shoot me before knowing who I really am?"

Oswald was doing his best to control his hand that was on the trigger, ready to pull. He wanted Isabella dead on the ground for doing what she did to Edward and then immediately take Edward to a hospital.

But he also needed answers in case she was from a bigger threat.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm a clone. Kristen Kringle's clone to be exact as you might have guessed. I was sent by a woman named Kathryn to spy on a little bird. Your friend here," she gestured at Edward with the bat, which almost caused Oswald to lose it, "was merely my ticket in."

"Kathryn..." where did Oswald hear that name before? His eyes widen at realization. "The woman that I spoke to at the founder's dinner."

"So you two have met before."

"While she was there, you were back at my house with Edward."

"That's right. That's where I got a call telling me I was settling in nicely by the way you were talking about me. I was apparently a disaster waiting to happen."

Oswald stopped breathing for a second. He confessed his love drama to the very person that was trying to bring him down and reported it to their pawn.

"Since then I wonder why would the mayor would go through the trouble of coming to me to tell me everything that friend his did. I know it wasn't to look out for me. It got clear when you came to me again. You were in love with him."

"And he loved you."

"He did which made everything so easy."

Oswald started getting flashbacks of all the things that gave off alarms in his head that wasn't just her obvious resemblance.

"The papers cutout you made of you and Edward, knowing he likes riddles, trying to make him not afraid to be around you...you knew everything about him before he even met you. You used all those things against him."

Oh, Ed. You brilliant idiot. How could you have not seen like I did? Oswald thought.

"That is correct," Isabella said with a smile.

"All for what? To get information on me for this Kathryn?"

"Yes and I got what I needed. Your downfall will be Edward's death because he will be someone else that you love who was killed and you couldn't do anything to stop it."

Oswald saw red and had enough. He fired three bullets at Isabella. Two hitting both shoulders and the third in her abdomen. Blood was coming out from all wounds but Isabella was still standing and laughing.

"What the..." Oswald said.

"I didn't feel a thing. But you will feel this." Isabella said as she ran towards Oswald with her bat.

Oswald started firing more bullets at Isabella which ended up doing absolutely nothing.

Isabella crashed into Oswald, sending them both onto the ground. Oswald dropped his gun during the fall but was fast enough to reach for the pocket knife he kept on him as he tried to get Isabella off of him. As he tried to stab the knife into her neck, Isabella grabbed his hand in quite a fast speed with a strong grip he wasn't expecting and squeezed his wrist with strength that made Oswald cry out of pain and dropped the knife as well. Isabella managed to pin the arm he used to attack her down and straddled him. She lifted her free arm to deliver a hard blow with her bat.

"Didn't you know? Clones are made with special abilities. What a surprise that must be for you."

Oswald struggled underneath her.

"Kathryn wants you alive but she didn't say anything about ruffling you up a little."

Oswald covered his face with the arm that wasn't in grip waiting for the blow. From past experience with Fish Mooney, he rather not risk a broken face that wouldn't correctly heal.

Just as Isabella was about to strike, she was knocked off of Oswald by Edward's chair that Edward had swung at her. When Oswald was shooting at Isabella, the sound of the gun going off managed to wake him up enough to see what was going on. Everything hurt. But when Edward saw Oswald on the floor and Isabella getting ready to hurt Oswald like she had hurt him, he ignored every bone that screamed to not move and went towards her.

He used the chair that he was still tied to get her off of Oswald and it worked. The broken ankle he got earlier from the fall down the stairs ached in protest and Edward came crashing down to the ground.

Isabella looked at Edward with anger in her eyes. "Why you little..." but before she could do anything, Oswald had grab the gun that he dropped and stood in between her and Edward and pointed it at her head.

"Feel this bitch," He said as he pulled the trigger. Relief washed over him when she finally dropped dead to the ground. Oswald hoped despite not being able feel anything that aiming at her brain would finally end things.

The relief was quickly replaced by worried when he heard Edward groan behind him. Oswald quickly turned and kneeled besides him, scared to touch his face because of the many bruises that have been formed, and are still forming, and the blood coming down from his head and nose.

"Hey, it's okay. It's over. I'm going to get you out of here."

Oswald crawled over to where his pocket knife was and crawled back to cut Edward free from the chair. Once he was free from the chair, Oswald asked if Edward could sit up.

Despite the pain he was feeling, Edward nodded and Oswald helped him into a sitting position but not without a cry of pain that tore Oswald's heart apart.

"Oh, Ed. I'm so sorry I didn't get here fast enough. I could have ended this sooner. Ended it before she managed to do so much damage on you."

Edward looked at Oswald through broken lens and gave him a small smile.

"You came to save me. Again. I'm always getting into trouble, aren't I?"

Oswald gave a small chuckle at that.

"Yes, you are. You always find a way to raise my blood pressure."

Ed's smile dropped.

Oswald quickly spoke again in hopes to get the smile back. "But know that I will always come to save you. No matter what. You mean a lot to me Ed and I would be lost without you."

Oswald used the same words he had said the morning of this nightmare happened. Edward seemed to recognize them and gave him the same smile he gave him that day.

"I don't deserve you."

"It is I who doesn't deserve you." Oswald replied. "Now let's get you out of here and to a hospital. I'm afraid to know what will happen to you if we stay here any longer. Can you stand?"

With the help of Oswald, Edward managed to stand but leaned heavily against Oswald, with one arm around Oswald's shoulder and Oswald's arm on Edward's waist to steady him, who was already struggling with the fact that he's shorter than Edward and has a limp of his own to care about. However, Oswald didn't care. He was going to get Edward out of here no matter what.

Oswald handed Edward his cane so he can use for the sprained ankle he caused himself.

As Oswald and Edward started to slowly walk out, Edward stopped to stare down and look at Isabella's dead body.

"I'll call Gabe to come by and clean this mess up. No one will know that the Mayor and his Chief Of Staff were here."

Edward didn't pay attention.

"Of course she was a fake." Ed chuckled sadly. "Who would fall for a freak show like me?"

Butch's words from the day he tortured him and Tabitha came back to haunt him. He was right. Ed wasn't sane. He had problems, he was aware of it. No one could love them. It was too much.

Oswald couldn't bear it anymore.

"I DO!" He screamed. "I LOVE YOU!"

Edward stared at him in shock.

Oswald realizing what he just said started panicking, "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Ed's shock suddenly turned into anger.

"Are you making fun of me?"

Now it was Oswald's turn to stare in shock.

"What?! No! What makes you think I'm making fun of you?"

"I just found out my girlfriend was only in love with me because she was programmed to and now you're saying you love me too? Do you think this is a joke to you? Why are you saying that when you don't mean it?"

"But I do mean it!"

Now that the secret is out, Oswald couldn't stop talking.

"I've been in love with you for awhile now. I wanted to tell you so many times but I kept getting tongue tied whenever I wanted to confess and then when I finally had the courage to, you didn't show up to the dinner we planned. I was worried sick the whole night thinking something bad happened to you! I was even calling the GCPD to report a missing person because I was that desperate. All that for what? To hear you in the morning telling me you're in love with a woman you just met! I can't lie and say I was happy for you because I wasn't. I was extremely jealous but at the same time didn't want to burden you with my feelings."

Oswald was out of breath by the time he was done.

Edward could only gape at him. Oswald had feelings for him this whole time. He said he was in love with him? Edward had to have heard wrong. There was no way that was possible. There was no way Oswald felt the same way he did.

Yet, he did.

"I can't be bought but I can be stolen with a glance." Edward began.

Oswald expression went from anxious to soft when he recognized the riddle and completed it for Edward. "I'm worthless to one but priceless to two."

"Oh, Oswald. I....I love you too."

"What?" Oswald said in disbelief.

Edward couldn't blame him for not believing him. Especially after everything he had said about Isabella being his second chance.

"I love you. I have loved you for so long and never thought you would ever back. That night on the couch, I thought for once I could finally read you. I thought you were gonna give me more than a hug and that you would admit you felt the same way but you never did. That's when I realized this was never going to happen. I found myself throwing myself at Isabella the moment she came into my life because she was the perfect person to try and move on with from what I've been feeling for so long. If I knew you felt the same way, I would have never gone with her."

Oswald felt tears welling up in his eyes. Edward loves him. He always had. This whole thing would have been avoided if he just told him how he felt from the beginning.

"I thought you didn't feel the same way either which is why I got nervous whenever I was around you and couldn't say anything because I didn't want to jeopardize our friendship. What a pair we make."

Edward smiled down at him and let go of the cane he was holding to cup Oswald's cheek.

"Yeah, what a pair."

As Edward leaned down, Oswald felt time around him stop. This was actually happening.

As Edward's lips met his, Oswald closed his eyes to just feel. The man he loves loved him too and was kissing him and despite everything that happened the past couple of days, he couldn't be happier.

Oswald tried his best kissing back, considering he didn't have any experience, but thought he was doing a good job when he heard Edward softly moan against his mouth.

Although Edward tasted like blood and metallic, Oswald couldn't help but already think about the next time he'll get to kiss this wonderful man again and know that time how he really tastes like.

They broke apart, both wearing the biggest smiles on their faces. Edward looked beautiful despite the state his face was currently in and looked at Oswald like he parted the oceans.

They were both snapped back to the reality when Oswald was sliding his hand down Edward's waist and accidentally touched a bruise that caused Edward to wince.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You can never hurt me."

"We really must start heading out now. What kind of person would I be if I let the love of my life die because of his injuries.

Love of my life. Edward liked the sound of that.

As Oswald and Edward made their way towards the elevator, exiting the building, getting into the car that has was still there and headed to the hospital, Edward couldn't help but smile thinking about going home with Oswald as a couple after everything is done and start planning to take down this Kathryn together.

Together they were unstoppable.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't expect this fic to be as long as it is but I just had to get everything that I had in mind down. I hope you all enjoy! Please leave comments, they're much appreciated.


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